How I’m trading volatility now with VIX Call Options
My strategy for trading volatility using the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) has two parts
Z-SYMBOLS
Watch my new YouTube video: “QuickPick: 3 reasons to buy Deere
I’m starting up my videos on JubakAM.com again–this time using YouTube as a platform. My thirty-fourth YouTube video “QuickPick: 3 reasons to buy Deere” went up today.
More on why I added Zebra Technologies, my second Post-Pandemic picks for a New Normal, to my Jubak Picks Portfolio on June 28
On June 28 I added Zebra Technologies (ZBRA), my second pick in my Special Report: 5 Post-Pandemic Picks and 5 Post-Pandemic Pans for a New Normal, to my Jubak Picks Portfolio. In that day’s update on this Special Report set a target price of $596. (The shares closed at $510.65 on June 25 and at $539.94 on July 2.) Today let me give you some more of my logic behind this pick as well as an update on why the stock climbed 1.49% on July 2.
Trick or Trend: A huge ransomware attack says “Buy another cybersecurity stock” and I’ll post my pick on Tuesday
Another day; another ransomware attack. This one is being called the largest non-national-state supply-chain cyberattack ever seen (and possibly the largest cyberattack ever, period.)
Watch my new YouTube video: “Buy Tencent after the fine”
I’m starting up my videos on JubakAM.com again–this time using YouTube as a platform. And, with this week, I’m adding a second shorter video (market events permitting) that will focus on a single stock or two. The thirty-first YouTube video “QuickPick: Buy Tencent after the fine” went up today.
Watch my new YouTube video: 3 Picks for the Earnings Blowout
I’m starting up my videos on JubakAM.com again–this time using YouTube as a platform. The thirtieth YouTube video “3 Picks for the Earnings Blowout” went up today.
Selling my VIX July and August options to complete my roll over into the November Call
Last Friday I recommended a buy of the November 17, 2021 Call Options on the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) with a strike at 18 for a new hedge in increased stock market volatility in the fall. The 3.32% drop that day to 15.44 took the index, which measures how much investors and traders are willing to pay to hedge against volatility in the S&P 500, took out the low for the VIX for 2021 and you have to go all the way back to February 10, 2020–before the pandemic knocked the stuffing out of stocks–to find a lower level for the “fear index” at 13.68. My thought on this buy was that at this price I was getting a chance to hedge volatility at a level that would generate a profit even if we didn’t get a big volatility event. Since that buy that Call Option (VIX211117C00018000) has climbed to $5.75 from my buy at $5.20 with a gain of 2.68% today. The VIX itself has edged high both today and yesterday to a close on June 29 at 16.11, up 2.22% on the day.
With Fed stress test behind them, banks announce deluge of dividend increases and share buybacks
That didn’t take long. On Thursday the Federal Reserve reported that all 23 big banks tested in its annual stress test, passed. Which means that the last remaining restrictions on dividend increases and share buybacks are now history. Yesterday big banks started to announce dividend increases
Buying Martin Marietta Materials in my Jubak Picks Portfolio to add to infrastructure plays
On Monday, June 28, I’ll be adding shares of Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) to my Jubak Picks Portfolio to increase my exposure to the infrastructure sector after the Thursday, June 24, announcement at the White House of a bipartisan infrastructure deal. You should think of this producer of construction aggregates–used in highways, for example–as a version of aggregate producer Vulcan Materials (VMC) with a different regional profile. Whereas Vulcan is strongest in the Southeast and Texas, Martin Marietta has just acquired the assets of Heidelberg Cement in Arizona and California.
Rolling over my Call Options on the VIX as volatility fears continue to fall
Investors and traders are less afraid of a drop in stocks than at any time in 2021. The CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX), which measures how much investors and traders are willing to pay to hedge against volatility in the S&P 500, is down another 3.32% to 15.44 today, June 25, as of 3:30 p.m. New York time. The drop took out the former low for the VIX for 2021 at 15.65. I have to go all the way back to February 10, 2020–before the pandemic knocked the stuffing out of stocks–to find a lower level for the “fear index” at 13.68. So today I’m buying Call Options on the VIX–which will go up if fear and the index climb for November 2021 with a strike at 19.
Watch my new YouTube Video: 5 stock picks for the infrastructure deal
I’m starting up my videos on JubakAM.com again–this time using YouTube as a platform. The twenty-ninth YouTube video “5 stock picks for the infrastructure deal” went up today.
News that White House and Senator group have struck a deal on infrastructure sends the usual suspects higher today
The White House has announced that it has struck an infrastructure deal with a bipartisan group of 10 Senators. There are almost no details on the deal and it’s not at all clear that President Biden will be able to convince the progressive wing of his own party to support the deal. On the other side of the aisle, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has not endorsed the deal. As I do the math, if only the 5 Republican Senators who were part of the negotiating group vote for the deal in the Senate, it will fail to clear the 60-vote threshold necessary for passage if McConnell and other Republicans decide to filibuster the legislation. All that aside, today the usual infrastructure stocks gained.
Jim’s Stock Alerts
Download Jim’s eBook for Free
